World champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin Phoenix) saw her chance for her first podium finish of the season in the X²O Budokamers Trophy Series go up in smoke on the third lap of Saturday's Scheldecross.

According to team reports, the cause was a "steel wire" entangled in the cassette and rear derailleur, forcing Alvarado to stop on the track at a critical time in the race.

"She picked up a steel wire somewhere on the course and could not remove it by hand," team manager Philippe Rudhoeft said, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

"Even with pliers it was hard work. The wires were tangled in the back gears."

Alvarado was at the head of the field, which included eventual winner Denis Betsema (Pauwels Sausen Bingor), Lucinda Brand (Terrenette Baloise Lions), Annemarie Wurst (777), and Yara Castellaine (Credishop Fristadz). She was part of a group of five players who stood.

She had to dismount her bike and spent nearly a minute removing the wire from the drivetrain.

Unluckily, the Alpecin Phoenix rider had an inoperable machine on her shoulder and ran to the pits to change bikes. She finished in 23rd place, about 4 minutes behind Betsema.

A team press representative posted a photo of a wire that appeared to be caught in the spokes and rear hub of her bike.

Alvarado is scheduled to compete in the Telenet Superprestige at Gabre on Sunday.